Bismillah!

Posted on Wednesday, 05/16/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

i have been playing songs on my hands for 37 years!
this one was really hard to do!

Everyone: Magnificoooo…

Posted in Music, Silly | 3 Comments

The Voice Of Cheese: Tim, Eldon & Max Goode

Posted on Tuesday, 05/15/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

It’s time for VOC #16, and boy, here’s a fun track if ever I heard one! Tim Goode writes:

My boy’s Eldon & Max (5 & 6 years old at the time) wrote the lyrics. Whenever we drive around we sing and try to make up rhymes. This is the product of one of those sessions. Max was too shy to sing, but came up with my favorite line, “When I eat my lunch, I want some pop”. Eldon sings and I play the instruments. Not much a bridge but oh well. Since this recording Eldon, now 8, has become quite a guitar player and Max a real solid drummer.

The song’s called Rock’nRoll — have a listen:

[audio:016_RockNRoll_Tim_Goode.mp3]

Like it? Download it!

Posted in Music, The Voice Of Cheese | 4 Comments

Anecdote #464 (Scene One)

Posted on Monday, 05/14/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

it begins in late 1977 in the basement of frank zappa’s hollywood home. it’s a saturday and as usual I’m learning the material for next week’s rehearsals. being the only “non-reader” in the band this was a common way for me to prepare. today’s lesson is a brand new song frank has just written called flakes.

— Adrian Belew, Anecdote #464 Scene One.

Posted in Frank Zappa, Zappa Articles | 3 Comments

The Neocon Series

Posted on Monday, 05/14/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Dennis P. McCann, artist, FZ-fan and founder of the Yahoo! Zappa-List has started a series of paintings entitled the Neocon Series. He’s currently at “Phase two”:

Phase Two examines the defining events by which history will judge the Bush administration, and the overall Neocon agenda. As always, I am not going to tell you, the viewer, what this painting means. That is for you to decide for yourself. Be aware that it is not only the objects that are of importance, but also the intersection of those objects. And, as always, the color is of significance.

With fantastic results so far, I might add.

Posted in Politics, Visual Arts | Comments Off on The Neocon Series

NEE

Posted on Monday, 05/14/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Question: at election time, where can you cast your vote and sign up for a blowjob? Answer: why, Belgium, silly!

Posted in Bizarre, Politics, Silly | 5 Comments

Ooooh Shiny

Posted on Friday, 05/11/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Last.fm now allows for the making and off-site inclusion of playlist “widgets”. Let’s see how that works out! Here are my Recently Played Tracks (my iTunes is currently on Party Shuffle mode by the way):

Now then: I’ve shown you mine — care to show me your widget? :D

Posted in Geek, Music, Personal | 8 Comments

Rotterdam ’79

Posted on Friday, 05/11/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

This week’s Friday Boot: Rotterdam, 27 February 1979.
From The FZ Tape Reviewing Society:

(…) this is a typical night, great, tight performances of all the usuals. Highlites include another nice Warren C solo during Cosmik Debris (…) A terrific Andy is followed by a very explorative solo by FZ during Inca with a samba backbeat courtesy of Vinnie and Arthur.

Enjoy!

Posted in Frank Zappa, Friday Boots | 3 Comments

On The Bus

Posted on Wednesday, 05/09/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

bus.jpg

CrackskullBob’s blog is nothing short of brilliant.
Bookmark now!

Posted in Comics, Visual Arts | Comments Off on On The Bus

For Ian And His Next Two Hitchhikers

Posted on Tuesday, 05/08/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Aah Joy Division. Right before their big American break-through (fueled by the hitsingle Love Will Tear Us Apart) lead-singer Ian Curtis had to go and commit suicide, thus laying the foundations for New Order whose Blue Monday is forever etched in my mind thanks to my older sister’s New Wave obsession at the time.

In commemoration: 30+ versions of Love Will Tear Us Apart.

(With thanks to Bernard, who seriously needs to set up his own weblog ASAP)

Posted in Music, Pop Cult | 4 Comments

100 Easy Tunes For Guitar

Posted on Tuesday, 05/08/07 by Balint

For beginners, like Mr. Knopfler, Mr. Gilmour, Mr. Kilmister – and the others.

Posted in Music, Pop Cult, Silly | 3 Comments

The Voice Of Cheese: Sunken Chest

Posted on Tuesday, 05/08/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

VOC #15! Heavy Pirate Metal! I’ll just let Andy MacMillan explain it to ya:

Sunken Chest is a pirate themed rock band from the Pacific Northwest United States… We dress up like pirates and drink lots of beer. Occasionally we battle ninjas. All our songs are about pirates, wenches, rum, stowaways, cannons, balls, and the like. But this one song is about none of those things. It’s about monkeys, and knives.

Monkey Knife Fight! Arrh, have a wee listen, why don’t you aye?

[audio:015_Sunken_Chest_Monkey_Knife_Fight.mp3]

Like it? Download it!

Posted in Music, The Voice Of Cheese | 3 Comments

Rare FZ Acetate: The Weasel Music

Posted on Monday, 05/07/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

From Zappateers:

It’s a one-sided acetate featuring 19 minutes or so of an album called The Weasel Music. This is one of the unreleased albums from the legendary 1969 12-LP set The History And Collected Improvisations Of The Mothers Of Invention.

It was apparently aired on KABF Radio yesterday, and the show’s host has promised to seed it.
A rundown of the contents:

  1. Spoken Intro from Royal Albert Hall London 1969
  2. New composition #1, title unknown, studio recording
  3. Mozart Ballet (YCDTOSA 5, this time in an alternate, longer edit)
  4. Improvisation (“with studio embellishment”)
  5. New composition #2, studio recording, title unknown

Gentlemen: fire up your bittorrent clients…

Posted in Frank Zappa, Zappa Audio/Video | 17 Comments

Genoa ’82

Posted on Friday, 05/04/07 by Magic Fingers

Back in July 1982, Frank and the boys played a series of shows down in Italy that to my mind are as good a bunch of gigs as any you will find down the years. This week we feature the fourth of these shows, a dirty distorted evening in Genoa if ever I heard one. Yes, the sound isn’t perfect, but, as Pat Buzby once put it, “the somewhat distorted sound fits the music, as the Night of the Deadly Pizza is one aggressive show”. And so it is.

It starts with what is probably my personal favourite opening tune for any FZ band, the magnificent Mammy Anthem. The opening few bars still send shivers down my spine. From there on in, great FZ solos abound… yeah, I know, I always say that… but it just happens to always be true. Frank is at his most threatening and malevolent tonight, ripping his way through Easy Meat, RDNZL, Advance Romance, Drowning Witch, Tiny Lites, the Black Page (oh, that King Kong vamp) and the Enema Bandit. The band are, quite simply, top-notch throughout. 

This is one of those shows that may well necessitate a brief lie down afterwards. Following which, I suggest you go straight out and beg, steal or borrow the rest of the shows from Frank’s 1982 Italian adventure. Alternatively, you could simply holler, preferably from a nearby rooftop, a huge happy birthday to the President of the Chad Wackerman Liberation Front… the one, the only, the inimitable, (the very scary when she wants to be)… Dr. Sharleena!

Posted in Frank Zappa, Friday Boots | 25 Comments

It’s Dr Sharl’s Birthday!

Posted on Friday, 05/04/07 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

I say this just in case you hadn’t noticed the subtly mod-o-fied banner up top — so give her your best wishes why don’t you! :)

Posted in Personal | 15 Comments

Buffalo On The Highway

Posted on Thursday, 05/03/07 by Balint

The photo of Kaushal Parekh on Flickr, that become the cover of Buffalo. (By the way: did you notice that ‘Buffalo 80’ is official release nr. 80?…)
(Update: see everything about Frank Zappa’s 2nd 1980 North America tour.)

Posted in Zappa Misc | 4 Comments